Your comments are welcome, including why you like
this tune, any musical challenges it presents, or additional background information.

Jazz musicians, fans, and students of all ages use this website as an educational resource.
As such, off-topic, off-color, unduly negative, and patently promotional comments will be removed.

Once submitted, all comments become property of JazzStandards.com.
By posting, you give JazzStandards.com permission to republish or otherwise distribute your comments in any format or other medium.
JazzStandards.com reserves the right to edit or remove any comments at its sole discretion.

“I Can’t Get Started” was introduced by Bob Hope, who sang it to Eve Arden in Ziegfeld Follies of 1936. Opening on January 30, 1936, at the Winter Garden Theatre, the Broadway revue ran for 115 performances.

Less than a month later, Hal Kemp and His Orchestra, with vocalist Skinnay Ennis, saw their hit recording of “I Can’t Get Started” rise to 14th place on the recording charts. In 1938, Bunny Berigan and His Orchestra’s 1937 rendition rose to tenth place (Bunny Berigan, vocal.)

Ziegfeld Follies of 1936 was remarkable in several ways: It was Fanny Brice’s last appearance in a Broadway show; it was George Balanchine’s Broadway debut as a choreographer; and, despite the name, Florenz Ziegfeld had been dead for over three years. Credit for production of the show was given to Billie Burke, but it was actually a Lee and J.J. Schubert production. The Schubert Brothers had purchased the rights to Ziegfeld’s name and had also used it to produce the Ziegfeld Follies of 1934.

It is quite surprising to find Bob Hope introducing a standard. In a New York Times article, theater and film critic Vincent Canby said, “It was, however, sung for laughs, with (Eve) Arden making caustic comments about Mr. Hope’s passion.” Bob Hope may not have been as gifted a singer as partner Bing Crosby, but he managed to see three of his songs make the recording charts:

”Two Sleepy People” (1939) Bob Hope and Shirley Ross (flip side was “Thanks for the Memories,” also a duet)

Composer Vernon Duke originally had his sights set on a career in classical music. In the book The Song Is Ended: Songwriters and American Music, 1900-1950, William G. Hyland writes, “In order to make a living, Dukelsky was forced to adopt an alter ego, Vernon Duke (a name given to him by the Gershwins).”

In “I Can’t Get Started,” Duke’s A-A-B-A construction
has a repeating bass line, called bass ostinato
or an ostinato bass line. The repetition
can be appealing to jazz musicians, acting as a
constant support, or underpinning, from which melodic
and harmonic improvisations can spring. -JW

Musical analysis of
“I Can’t Get Started (with You)”

Original
Key

Bb major

Form

A1 – A2 –
B – A3

Tonality

Primarily
major

Movement

Generally
arpeggiated upwards with some stepwise motion.
Sustained pitches in the “B” section.

A soaring melody with a range of an octave
and a fourth, this song is more attractive
to instrumentalists than vocalists. Initial
harmonic progression is I - vi – ii7 – V7,
but it takes an odd detour in mm 3–4.The
V7 resolves to III7, which in turn leads
to vi, but then goes to a minor chord a
whole step higher, the root of which is
the melody note at this point. This chord
(Am7 in the key of Bb) seems inappropriate,
especially in that the restatement of the
initial melody is completely incompatible.
Is it possible that a common-tone diminished
or a V7 might have been there at some point?
In any case, the three-note, upward arpeggio
based on the tonic chord comes in right
on beat three, and there is virtually no
chord other than the tonic that will fit
gracefully here. One solution might be for
the rhythm section to simply lay out at
this point. The “B” section uses a “Laura”–type
chord progression, starting on the iii (Dm7-G7-C-Cm7-F7-Bb),
after which there is a I-vi-II7-V7 turnaround
back into the final “A”.

K. J. McElrath - Musicologist for JazzStandards.com

Check out K. J. McElrath’s book of Jazz Standards Guide Tone Lines at his web site (www.bardicle.com).

Vernon Duke’s classic
ballad, “I Can’t Get Started,” combines a typical
diatonic turnaround with a chromatic phrase, and
that juxtaposition creates an unusual harmonic landscape
for the soloist to negotiate.

“I Can’t Get Started” has been a favorite for trumpet players ever since Berigan’s recording in 1937. In Mark C. Gridley’s Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, the author comments that Dizzy Gillespie could “...make the trumpet tone brittle and then crack it resoundingly in a burst of high notes.” Gillespie could “...channel all his terrific energy into a ballad, using his exceptional skill with harmony and his fertile imagination to mold a unique, personal creation.” As an example of a “masterpiece of this kind” Gridley cites Gillespie’s 1945 “I Can’t Get Started,” which may be found on Ken Burns JAZZ Collection: Dizzy Gillespie. -JW

An extremely sensitive person, tenor saxophonist Lester Young recorded in July, 1942, what could be described as a musical eulogy to the man to whom this song was indelibly linked--Bunny Berigan--who had died just a few weeks before. Along with Nat “King” Cole on piano and “Red” Callendar on bass, Young’s version was a departure from previous recordings of the tune (he had been on Billie Holiday’s version from 1938). Lester’s inventive interpretation reflects his gentle, other-worldly nature, the side of his work that would influence the ballad playing of later musicians like Stan Getz and Zoot Sims. Sandwiched between Lester’s solos is a harmonically forward-thinking piano solo by Cole, who was just beginning to make a name for himself with his trio.

This section suggests definitive or otherwise significant recordings that will help jazz students get acquainted with
“I Can't Get Started (with You).” These recordings have been selected from the Jazz History and
CD Recommendations sections.

With bassist Don Thompson and drummer Terry Clarke the virtuoso guitarist makes an intensely romantic statement on “I Can’t Get Started.”’ The CD also includes a killer arrangement of “(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings.”’

Carmen’s voice and articulation are superb. Her accompanists on this song are Dick Katz, piano; Mundell Lowe, guitar; Wendell Marshall, bass; and Kenny Clarke, drums. Elsewhere on the CD she performs with Ernie Wilkins’ orchestra, and with the Mat Matthews Quintet.

Pianist Bley filters the standards through his own creative spirit, but on this CD he adheres closely to the mainstream jazz idiom. For those wanting to become familiar with Bley’s piano mastery, this CD is a good start.